Vote yes for safe waterS

EXAMINER EDITORIAL WRITER

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, October 19, 1997

1997-10-19 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- SUPPORTERS and opponents of Propositions A and B agree on the high quality and low cost of San Francisco's elderly system for delivery of Sierra water to 2.3 million people in The City and more than 30 other Bay Area communities. No serious argument has been advanced against the critical need for costly repairs, replacements, seismic retrofits, monitors and facilities for filtration, chloramination and ozonation in the age of Cryptosporidium parasites.

The sticking point, as usual, is money. With interest, it comes to $695 million in two revenue bond issues that require only a simple majority on the Nov. 4 ballot in San Francisco. Endorsements are plentiful. Except from our resident grump, state Sen. Quentin Kopp, I-San Francisco / San Mateo. He calls it a "shell game."

Himself a former supervisor in San Francisco, Kopp contends that hydroelectric profits from the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power Department should have gone into upgrading the water system's 165-mile aqueduct, reservoirs and 100-year-old mains. Instead, he notes that for 20 years assorted mayors and supervisors have snagged these millions and tossed them into the general fund for Muni, parks, the homeless and other needs that seemed compelling at the time - especially after Proposition 13.

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Kopp has a point. But it deals with the past. The present need for a safe water supply is far too important to be held hostage while the necessary Charter amendments are drafted and put to a vote. Let's be realistic: Mayor Brown has proposed a batch of costly public works projects, and he'll need every penny of Hetch Hetch power profits (about $45 million this year).

The cost of our pure mountain water is $12.20 a month for a typical household in The City. That's 41 cents a day. The bond issues will mean another $2.08 per month. For 7 cents a day, it's a bargain.

Vote yes on Props. A and B.&lt;

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